Oman plans to encourage vital organ transplantation

Oman is considering expansion of vital organ transplantation and a top health official said the eighth International Congress of the Middle East Society for Organ Transplantation will help speed up the process.

Dr Nabil Mohsin Salmeen, Senior Consultant and Head of Nephrology at the Royal Hospital, described the society's four-day international congress started at here yesterday as vital as the transplantation of organs themselves.

"This congress comes to Oman at a time when we are seriously considering expansion of vital organ transplantation in Oman," Dr Salmeen told Gulf News. He believed that it will help raise awareness about the benefits of organ transplantation.

Since 1988 kidney transplantation has been carried out in Oman. "Since then we have carried out more than 100 kidney transplantations," he pointed out. The Sultan Qaboos University has been doing bone marrow transplants for nearly 10 years and doctors there have performed 68 transplants.

Corneal transplantation is also done at the Al Nahda Hospital. Dr Salmeen, however, admitted that many people prefer to go abroad for kidney transplants.

"The biggest problem is to find donors otherwise people will carry out organ transplantations here. Awareness is not lacking but people are not responsible enough to donate organs for the people who desperately need them."

On the society's role, Dr Salmeen said its objective is to provide up to date knowledge. And, "not everyone can go out and gain knowledge so we try to bring knowledge to their doorsteps by holding international conferences.

"Around 300 medical and para medical persons from all over Oman are taking part in this conference," he said. The chief coordinator of the seminar Dr Ramprasad Kurpad, a Consultant Nephrologist with the Saudi Centre for Organ Transplantation, said a 100 lectures will be delivered in four days.